Takeaways from Four-Year RAPID-axSpA Data

Sergio Schwartzman, MD: The RAPID-axSpA study was a study that actually included both patients with non-radiographic axSpA and radiographic axSpA. Two major points that I think are unique about that study are, number one, this was the first time that this concept of non-radiographic axSpA was tested in an attempt to get certolizumab approved by the FDA. And, number two, that the Advisory Committee to the FDA voted in favor of having it approved.

And I think, number three, is the point that you just mentioned, which was that in a four-year span, we had only 2 patients of 44 patients that entered this study convert from non-radiographic axial spinal arthritis to radiographic axial spondyloarthritis. So, I think it was a pivotal study. I think that it introduced the concept to the rheumatology community. And now that we have long-term data for a specific therapy where data is collected and objectively analyzed, we see that the numbers of conversion or progression of the disease, as measured by X-ray changes, is very much mitigated by treating the disease early and aggressively.